LYTE ticketing company abruptly shuts down leaving festivals and fans at financial loss

Ticket resale company LYTE has suddenly taken down its website and laid off its staff, leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of debt outstanding.

Ten years after it launched, ticketing company LYTE appears to have suddenly gone out of business. Its website has been shut down, replaced by a ‘Be Back Soon!’ graphic that indicates that the site is undergoing scheduled maintenance and will be back shortly. The reality seems to be much more than scheduled maintenance, though, as the company has reportedly laid off all of its staff as well.

LYTE’s founder and chief executive officer Ant Taylor has also confirmed to Billboard that he has resigned from the company. The board is reportedly making an effort to find an emergency buyer for the company that may be able to repay clients who have been left at a financial loss.

Founded in 2014, LYTE was initially conceived as a fan-to-fan ticket exchange that allowed attendees of concerts and festivals to ethically buy and re-sell tickets to each other. However, the company began to stray from that ideal years later, serving as the primary ticket selling platform for some small events and reportedly working with promoters to help them scalp luxury tickets to events and festivals. This has resulted in LYTE handling thousands upon thousands of dollars’ worth of tickets and funds at any given time, so the company’s sudden shut-down has left both promoters and fans out significant sums of money.

One of LYTE’s most high-profile clients is Excision’s Lost Lands festival, which takes place this weekend in Legend Valley, Ohio. Many fans who had bought tickets to the festival on the platform have feverishly taken to social media following LYTE’s disappearance, as they are left without their money or their festival tickets. According to The Festive Owl, Lost Lands will be working with those affected by this situation at will call to ensure they are admitted to the festival.

As this situation continues to unfold, LYTE’s official filing for bankruptcy may be imminent. It remains to be seen whether something will be worked out to repay promoters and users for their money and tickets which were being handled by LYTE at the time of its sudden shut-down.